Greenall Whitley & Co. Ltd Small Round Tin

Greenall Whitley & Co. Ltd tin hammered gold tin tray dating from the 1960s. Greenall Whitley's first brewery was founded by Thomas Greenall on Hall Street, St. Helens, in 1762. The Wilderspool Brewery, located near Warrington, was acquired in 1787. Greenall Whitley & Co. began to purchase its own pubs as early as 1800, helping to gradually accelerate its competitive advantage. In the first half of the 19th century Greenall's porters, sparkling ales and bitters were supplied to its own public houses proving to be a sensible strategy and giving Greenalls a strong financial foundation on which to build. In 1853 the St. Helens brewery was rebuilt, retooled and enlarged. By 1859, after the death of longtime silent partner Thomas Lyon, the Greenall family became the sole owners of both the St. Helens and Wilderspool breweries and the Company name was changed to Greenall & Co. Around 1860 Greenall's took over its last major local competitor, Dentons Green Brewery in St. Helens. The Company was registered in 1880 as Greenall Whitley & Co. Ltd and both of its breweries in Hall Street, St. Helens and the Wilderspool Brewery, near Warrington, were consolidated into one business. In the 1890s Sir Gilbert Greenall expanded and modernised the Wilderspool Brewery, including state-of-the-art brewing and bottling equipment, larger office space, and upgraded access to the railway network. Between 1890 to1986 the Company pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy purchasing seventeen breweries in that time. After WWII some famous names were taken over by Greenalls including the Shrewsbury & Wem Brewery Co. Ltd in1951, Magee, Marshall & Co. Ltd in 1959, Groves & Whitnall Ltd in 1961, Wrekin Brewery Co. Ltd in 1966, James Shipstone & Sons Ltd in 1978, JPS Breweries Ltd (Simpkiss) in 1985 and finally John Davenport & Sons Ltd in 1986. In 1975 brewing was centralised at Warrington resulting in the closure of Greenall's oldest brewery at St. Helens. In 1990 brewing ceased at the Wilderspool Brewery when the Company decided to focus its business on running pubs & hotels and was renamed Greenalls Group PLC in 1991. Despite the fact that brewing had ceased, the Company's acquisition strategy continued, and the retail estates of both Devenish and Boddingtons were added to its empire in 1993 and 1995 respectively. Although they are gradually disappearing, Greenall's old beer brands are still being distributed by Carlsberg and are brewed for them by Molson-Coors Brewing (UK) Ltd in Burtonwood.